Delhi high court on Thursday allowed 50 people to offer namaz five times a day at the first floor of the Markaz building during Ramzan saying if other places of worship are open in Delhi, this should not be closed. Noting that the overall Covid-19 situation in the country is grim, the bench said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority has restricted all religious gatherings and congregations but it has not ordered the closure of the places of worship, considering the spurt in the number of infections. However, only 50 people will be allowed at the first floor of the building, the bench ruled, turning down the request of the Delhi Waqf Board to allow 50 people each on three more floors of the Markaz building, apart from the first floor.
The Markaz comprises Masjid Bangley Wali, Madarsa Kashif-ul-uloom and an attached hostel. Giving the order, Justice Pratibha M Singh directed the Station House Officer of the Nizamuddin police station to permit the entry of 50 people accordingly. The Markaz building has remained shut since March 2020 after the gathering of the Tablighi Jamaat held during the outbreak of the pandemic was termed as a superspreader. On March 24, this year, the Delhi high court allowed conditional reopening of the Markaz during Shab-e-Barat.In connection with last year's gathering, which became the centre of several controversies, an FIR has been registered under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, Foreigners Act and various provisions of the penal code. The Delhi Police charged 952 foreigners from 36 countries who took part in that gathering and stayed when lockdown was imposed in the country. Markaz was one of the first hotspots of Covid-19 in Delhi from where Police evacuated 2,458 people after a 36-hour drive on April 1, 2020.